IHG Branches into Boutique with New Hotel Brand, voco

The hotel group has announced that voco will drive significant growth for IHG, with the new hotel brand encapsulating hotels ‘that are reliable enough to depend on, but different enough to be fun’

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has today launched voco, its new upscale hotel brand, alongside announcing a first signing in Australia.

Working with high-quality individual and locally-branded hotels, the new IHG brand will see the hotel group tapping into the booming luxury boutique and independent hotel market, in the vein of Design Hotels, Leading Hotels of the World and Small Luxury Hotels. The hotel group has announced that voco – its name inspired by the latin word for ‘to invite’ or to ‘come together’ ­– will combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand.

The launch of voco comes the month after IHG announced plans to expand its luxury and upscale estate in the UK through a conditional agreement with Covivio (formerly Foncière des Régions) to rebrand and operate 12 high quality open hotels and one pipeline hotel into its portfolio across the UK, with the deal establishing an important presence for voco in the UK with a number of these properties converting to the new brand in the coming months.

“We’ll work with owners of attractive properties, who appreciate the power and expertise that a global business can bring to the table. Guests will be able to enjoy the appeal of a more individual hotel, alongside the reassurance of a name above the door that they trust. The versatility of the brand, means a voco hotel can retain and celebrate all of the elements that make that existing hotel successful,” said Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer at IHG.

The voco brand promises a guest experience that is reliably different, brought to life through a bold, distinctive identity, informal service style and thoughtful touches along the way addressing critical moments on the guest journey, including a signature welcome experience coined ‘come on in’, amenities to encourage ‘me time’, and vibrant bar and lounge spaces for guests to relax or work, called ‘voco life’.

The roll-out of voco will begin in IHG’s Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) region, with plans to take it to the Americas and Greater China over time in a bid to drive significant growth for IHG, who are expecting to open more than 200 voco hotels in popular urban and leisure locations over the next 10 years.

The first signing for the voco brand outside of Europe will be the Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast, with the 388-room hotel due to open under the voco flag in late 2018.